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Apple has sent out invitations for an event on 9/12/17. It is expected they will announce at least 3 iPhone models at the event with the potential “iPhone 8” starting at $1,000. A lot of people are not interested in the latest technology and simply want to purchase a phone on sale. They opt for an iPhone because of the ease of use, ecosystem, quality, and resale value to name a few reasons. Smartphones are an area where I believe you should purchase quality products with supported operating systems instead of cheap junk that is unusable in a year.

iPhone Historical Price Cuts

Consumer Reports recently investigated the historical pricing of iPhones over time. They found that iPhones tend to sell for the same price as released until after the next model is announced. In 2016 the iPhone 6s remained around $800 in August until after the iPhone 7 was announced on 9/7/16. The 6s then began its drop in price, continuing to fall to around $720 after the iPhone 7 was released on 9/16/16 and continuing to fall further to about $690 on 9/20/16. Therefore in about 13 days the iPhone 6s dropped by about $110.

Further Cuts in Price

The iPhone 6s did not stop falling in price after the 7 was released. It continued on its descent downward to reach $668 on 10/25/16. By simply waiting a little over a month from when the 7 was released you would have saved around $132. Wireless carriers and big box stores also typically offer trade-in deals when new iPhones are announced. In the past the deals are usually up to $200 for trading in an older iPhone. This is a great deal if you are able to trade in an iPhone that is worth less than $200 and also purchase a 1 year old model $132 cheaper.

Summary

We will have to wait until after the new iPhones are announced to determine if they are worth purchasing or if buying an older model makes more sense. There are definitely benefits to buying new models such as having the latest technology, ability to hold onto longer until obsolete, battery life, etc.

However, if you already know you want an iPhone 7 or 6s it is probably a good idea to wait until after the new iPhones are released so you can buy one on sale. If you wait even longer there are typically additional discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (which are quickly approaching).

Readers, if you are thinking about buying an iPhone, are you going to buy a new model or an old model on sale?